Can I take a part 3 test on a dual carriageway

Can I Take My ADI Part 3 Test on a Dual Carriageway?

Yes, you can take your ADI Part 3 test and use dual carriageways as part of your lesson. There is nothing that says you cannot use a dual carriageway, and for the right pupil with the right lesson goal, it can be a perfectly suitable subject.

However, in my experience, choosing dual carriageways can make the Part 3 test more complicated than many PDIs expect. The problem is not the dual carriageway itself, it is everything that comes with it. You need good subject knowledge, good route knowledge and, most importantly, a clear understanding of what your pupil actually needs to develop.

Simply deciding that your Part 3 lesson is going to be "dual carriageways" isn't enough. You need to know why you are doing it, what part of dual carriageway driving the pupil needs help with, and how your chosen route is going to give you opportunities to help them improve.

Start With the Pupil, Not the Dual Carriageway

Your lesson should be based around the pupil's needs, rather than choosing a subject because you think it will work well for the ADI Part 3 test.

Ideally, something should have come from the previous lesson that gives you a genuine reason to continue working on dual carriageways. Perhaps the pupil has already driven on them and struggled with joining from a slip road. Maybe they are reluctant to build up enough speed, nervous about overtaking, uncomfortable changing lanes at higher speeds, or unsure about when and how to leave the dual carriageway.

This is where you need to become more specific. "Dual carriageways" is a very broad subject and there are numerous individual skills within it.

You might need to work on:

• Joining from a slip road

• Leaving a dual carriageway

• Building up speed before joining

• Matching the speed of traffic

• Lane changing

• Overtaking

• Returning to the left-hand lane

• Dealing with different speed limits

• Joining traffic

• Dealing with crossroads on a dual carriageway

• Understanding different types of slip road

• Using a slip road that merges into the carriageway

• Using a slip road that continues as a separate lane

The important question is not simply, "Can the pupil drive on a dual carriageway?" It is, "What specifically does this pupil need to improve?"

Use KUSC to Find the Real Problem

Once you have identified the area that needs development, you then need to work out why the pupil is having difficulty.

Is it their knowledge, understanding, skill or confidence?

For example, a pupil who struggles to join a dual carriageway might not understand how the slip road should be used. Another pupil may understand perfectly well what they are supposed to do but lack the skill to judge the traffic and adjust their speed. Somebody else may have the knowledge and skill but lack the confidence to accelerate towards 60 or 70 mph while looking for a suitable gap.

Those are very different problems, even though from the passenger seat they might initially look similar.

That is why simply teaching "joining dual carriageways" isn't enough. You need to identify what is causing the problem and then adapt your teaching accordingly.

Route Planning Becomes Extremely Important

This is where dual carriageways can become more difficult as a Part 3 lesson.

Let's say your pupil's main problem is joining from a slip road. You need to think about the route before the lesson starts. How long will it take you to reach the dual carriageway? How many opportunities will the pupil have to join it? Where are the exits? Can you leave the dual carriageway, discuss what happened and then create another opportunity for the pupil to try again?

If the pupil makes a mistake joining the dual carriageway, ideally you want to be able to analyse what happened, help them understand it and then give them another opportunity to improve.

If there is another junction reasonably close by, you might be able to leave at the next exit, discuss what happened where appropriate, then use another slip road to join again. That gives you the opportunity to see whether the pupil has actually developed from the previous attempt.

The difficulty comes when you choose a section of dual carriageway where the junctions are miles apart. If the next exit is 10, 15 or even 20 miles away, what are you going to do if something goes wrong with the skill you are supposed to be developing?

You cannot simply stop on a dual carriageway to have a discussion. You may also have no realistic opportunity to repeat the exercise.

That can turn what sounded like a good Part 3 lesson plan into one long drive.

Don't Just Drive Up and Down a Dual Carriageway

One of the biggest problems I see with PDIs using dual carriageways for Part 3 is that they don't break the subject down into its component parts.

They get onto the dual carriageway at one end, drive for a considerable distance, turn around somewhere and drive back again. It fills the time nicely and the pupil certainly gets plenty of dual carriageway driving, but what development has actually taken place?

Sometimes they may stop and talk about something, but there is often very little opportunity to analyse a specific problem and then practise it again.

That is the difference between simply driving and actually teaching.

If the pupil struggled when joining at the beginning of the lesson and the next opportunity to join a dual carriageway doesn't happen until much later, you have lost a valuable opportunity to develop that skill.

For Part 3, I want to see that the pupil has had an opportunity to understand what happened, work on it and try it again. The lesson needs to move forwards rather than simply use up the available time.

A Dual Carriageway Lesson Still Needs to Be Adaptable

There is another problem with planning a Part 3 lesson around a particular stretch of dual carriageway. You can become so focused on getting there that you ignore what is happening with the pupil on the way.

Imagine you have decided that today's lesson is going to concentrate on joining dual carriageways. You have planned the route, you know which slip road you want to use and you are determined to get there.

But on the journey to the dual carriageway, your pupil starts making repeated mistakes somewhere else.

Those faults may become more important than the original lesson plan.

This is where you need to recognise that the lesson may have to change. If another significant learning need develops, particularly one involving risk, you cannot ignore it simply because your plan says you are doing dual carriageways.

The lesson plan is there to give the lesson structure, but it should not prevent you from responding to the pupil sitting next to you.

Think About Opportunities to Improve

One of the most important questions I would ask any PDI planning a dual carriageway lesson for Part 3 is, "Where are the opportunities for your pupil to improve?"

If your pupil struggles with joining, where can they practise joining again?

If they struggle with overtaking, does your route realistically provide opportunities to work on overtaking?

If they are struggling with lane changes, can you provide suitable opportunities to practise those safely?

It is not enough to identify a fault and have a conversation about it. You want the pupil to be able to put that discussion into practice so that you can see whether their driving has improved.

That means thinking beyond where you are going to drive. You need to think about what you are going to teach while you are there.

Know the Dual Carriageway You Are Using

Good route knowledge becomes particularly important when using dual carriageways on an ADI Part 3 test.

You should know the road well enough to understand what opportunities it gives you. Where are the junctions? How far apart are they? What type of slip roads are you going to encounter? Do they merge with the main carriageway or continue as their own lane? Where can you safely leave the dual carriageway if you need to change the lesson?

You also need the subject knowledge to deal with whatever that road presents.

A dual carriageway is not simply a road with two lanes travelling in the same direction. You could encounter different speed limits, varying numbers of lanes, crossroads, joining traffic, short slip roads, long slip roads and different junction layouts.

If you choose the subject for your Part 3 test, you need to be comfortable teaching the situations that might arise.

Would I Recommend Dual Carriageways for an ADI Part 3 Test?

Yes, as a subject, dual carriageways are absolutely fine for an ADI Part 3 test.

However, I would not choose them simply because you know a route that conveniently takes around 40 minutes to drive.

You need to think about the pupil's needs, your subject knowledge, your route knowledge, where you can discuss problems, how you are going to analyse faults, how you will adapt the lesson if something changes and, most importantly, where you are going to give the pupil opportunities to improve.

If all of those things have been considered, a dual carriageway can provide an excellent Part 3 lesson.

If they haven't, it can easily become a long drive where very little actual development takes place.

Don't Save This for Your Part 3 Test

Perhaps the biggest point I would make is that none of this should suddenly start happening because there is a DVSA examiner sitting in the back of the car.

You should already be doing it with your pupils.

When you teach dual carriageways during normal driving lessons, think about what the pupil specifically needs to improve, break the subject down, analyse why they are struggling and choose routes that give them opportunities to practise.

If something more important develops during the lesson, be prepared to change the plan. If the pupil struggles with something, don't just talk about it and carry on driving, look for an opportunity to let them try it again.

That is good driving instruction, whether you are on your ADI Part 3 test or teaching a pupil on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon.

So, can you take your Part 3 test on a dual carriageway? Yes, absolutely.

The more important question is whether you have planned a lesson that allows you to identify the pupil's needs, analyse what is causing the problem, help them understand it and give them a genuine opportunity to improve.

If you can do that, you are not simply driving up and down a dual carriageway to fill the test time. You are teaching.